The Perfect Qualities of Jesus

* Just a little disclaimer before I start thinking out loud. I am on pain medication since my back is currently not cooperating. So, my thinking out loud may not make sense...OR maybe it will make even more sense than it usually does, which would be a good thing for those of you who are regular participants in conversations with me. :-) 

"The most wonderful secret of living a holy life does not lie in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfect qualities of Jesus exhibit themselves in my human flesh." Oswald Chambers

I have read this quote before, but never spent much time pondering this "wonderful secret". If any of you have been following me on Facebook you will have noticed the great quantities of Chamber's quotes showing up in my posts lately. It has been a while since I have picked up the book "My Utmost for His Highest". Last month I decided to delve back into it. It is one of those books you should read more than once. Of course, as with anything by Oswald Chambers there is a nugget of wisdom....or two...or more to be found on every page. If anything I find myself overwhelmed with the continuous flow of insight and acumen, tucked into the pages of this book

My Thoughts

As Christians we instructed regularly to imitate Christ in all we do. We are to be mindful in asking "What would Jesus do?", and act in such a way. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. I see it as a starting point for all new believers and for anyone who has stumbled and fallen on their walk. We should turn to the pages of God's Word and look to Jesus as the example of who we are to become more like. Through His example we can learn compassion, giving, forgiveness, how to endure hardship, how to treat others, how to love, and so much more.

However, as Christians our acts of compassion, giving, love, forgiveness and more should be a natural outflowing of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. We understand that we cannot earn our salvation by doing works or by imitating Jesus. We need to believe in the free gift of forgiveness given us through Jesus on the cross. The goodness of the Holy Spirit will flow out of our relationship with Him, through accepting Him as Savior.

I think, the point I am making (and remember I am on pain medication) is that it is a "both/and" situation. I think, for many of us, when we started out as new believers that we didn't know "how we should be" and the example Jesus gives us in scripture is a good starting point for all of us to imitate, but as time passes and our relationship with God deepens the good that should flow out of us comes through the "perfect qualities of Jesus" via the Holy Spirit working in our lives.

My friend and I were talking today after lunch. She was celebrating the changes in her husband over the last year and how he isn't the same person anymore after coming to Christ. We smiled together as we thought about how it used to be so difficult for him to do the "good things or the right things". It used to be a painful, active choice he had to consciously make, maybe even asking, "What would Jesus do?" Now, doing the good thing and doing the right thing is just as natural as breathing for him. It is the overflow of the Holy Spirit at work in his life. It is a wonderful thing to see. Something my friend and I celebrate!

This made me spend some time thinking about where I was as a Christian in the beginning and where I am now, almost thirty years later. There truly is a significant difference between my attempts at imitating Christ then and what He is doing through me now. (I'm not bragging in any way here. Just taking a moment to turn around to see and test my thoughts.) Take a moment and recall your earlier days and you will see that somehow, somewhere along the line, as your relationship with God was growing, that your works and struggles of imitation, slowly became the "perfect qualities of Jesus" exhibiting themselves in your human flesh. Did you realize how profoundly God was working in your life?

It is my hope and prayer that as we (me, you, my brothers and sisters in Christ) continue to grow in our relationship with Christ that we will be used more and more by God, through the Holy Spirit to share the "perfect qualities of Jesus" to even greater degrees with those in our lives. When His perfect qualities are flowing out, the world can't help but notice and want Him too!